Helix Forensics Is No Longer Free!

It is always a danger with open-source security tools that are maintained by companies that they will move to a commercial license. Some have gone the crippled version route (ie OSSIM,) some the exclusive non-free route (Nessus, which honestly wasn’t really commercial quality software anyway–true it was useful, but not polished) and now Helix no longer has a free version available. And a few, like Snort and Metasploit have stayed true to their roots offering both enhanced and standard free versions.
The pricing isn’t overbearing in comparison to other forensics tools, but those tools are not a collection of open-source software. All links to the free version have been removed from the website, but you can still find the last free release on SoftPedia.
I haven’t looked at the new version yet–which I assume in all fairness to e-fense has significant new functionality and better integration (I would hope!) And once I have a look I will post back on what is up and hopefully be able to give more useful information, and a better review. (I have at one point or another used many of the other forensics tools on the market.) I am not too hopeful though–I have always looked at Helix as a convenient collection of open-source tools freely available elsewhere; even on other bootable Linux distros, and not as a primary tool for doing forensic analysis.